How do elections work in Estonia? Estonia is undoubtedly one of eastern Europe’s biggest success stories since the collapse of communism – its economy has developed quickly (with a GDP (PPP) per capita now on a par with Japan) and it... Posted 25 Feb 2023
Why did Belgium adopt proportional representation? In 1899, Belgium became the first country in the world to adopt a proportional system for national elections. At that point, it had primarily been the preserve of theoretical debate, with only a handful of... Posted 01 Feb 2023
What are the alternatives to First Past the Post? Westminster’s First Past the Post system means we don’t get a parliament that fully represents the voting public. Millions of people can support one party and get a single MP, while a few hundred thousand... Posted 19 Jan 2023
How did Switzerland get proportional representation? In the early 1890s, a handful of Swiss cantons (states) held the first public elections in Europe to truly use proportional representation (PR). The success of these early votes meant that over the next few... Posted 06 Jan 2023
A wave of cities across the United States switch to fair voting systems This week’s big electoral story is America’s midterm elections and the failure of the predicted ‘Red Wave’ to materialise. However, an underreported story has been the high number of cities that accepted proposals to introduce... Posted 11 Nov 2022
How do elections work in the Australian states? Six months after choosing a new federal parliament, voters in the key Australian state of Victoria will be returning to the polling booth this Saturday (26th November), not just in hope of getting their hands... Posted 10 Nov 2022
Quebec’s 2022 election reveals error of not scrapping first past the post Back in 2018 we reported on the excitement in Quebec which was set for a move from First Past the Post (FPTP) to proportional representation, following a commitment from the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, to the... Posted 05 Oct 2022
What electoral system does India use to elect the Lok Sabha? India, the largest democracy in the world, has a system of democratic federalism which has both large amounts of parties and Westminster-style First Past the Post (FPTP) voting. The Indian Federal government is made up... Posted 29 Sep 2022
Renewing democracy in an age of authoritarians (Labour Conference) Join us and IPPR to discuss how we can renew democracy in an age of authoritarians. Chair: Harry Quilter-Pinner, Director of Research and Engagement, IPPR Speakers: David Lammy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign,... Posted 16 Sep 2022
How do elections work in Latvia? Latvia’s election this Saturday (1st October) has been in the calendar for a while – a referendum is required to dissolve the Latvian parliament early. Such a vote can be called either by the president,... Posted 15 Sep 2022